Reunion of the Brothers
by Knighted-Geek
Summary: Sitka shook his head sadly at his brother's retreating form. "The Wolf of Wisdom? Maybe it should have been the Boar of Revenge?" AU story. Sitka lived and now both he and his brother, Denahi, chase down the bear that 'killed' their youngest brother.
1. Pride

**Chapter 1: Pride  
****Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Sitka stood nervously amongst the crowd of everyone from the village. They were all here for the totem ceremony and this time it was Kenai's turn to receive his totem and make the first steps towards manhood. Sitka could hear the bubble of excitement radiate through the crowd, as it always did at these occasions, at the idea that the great spirits would be present while they watched over the ceremony. Everyone was also desperately curious to discover exactly which totem and trait Kenai would receive.

Sitka just prayed to the Great Spirits that Kenai would be safe on his journey into manhood and into his future and hoped his ancestors watching over the ceremony were equally as proud of Kenai as he was.

Turning his attention back to the ceremony, Sitka, as well as the rest of the crowd waited patiently as Tanana arrived. She made her way through everyone towards the fire pit Kenai was sat next to and held the hide bundle his totem was wrapped within. As she disappeared from his sight, Sitka realised the need for him to get closer. He weaved through the crowd towards the front and then spotted Denahi. He diverted towards him knowing that he needed to watch his brother to ensure he behaved.

He could already see the worrying signs of smirks appearing on Denahi's face. It increased when Denahi spotted Sitka.

"It's going to be the Deer of Grace. Or maybe the Rat of Slyness. Oh, wait maybe it's even going to be the Mammoth of Loudness…"

"Denahi," Sitka warned. The last thing he needed was for Denahi to be making himself, and therefore Kenai, foolish and he didn't want Kenai's ceremony to be ruined.

"Aww, come on. You don't think it's going to be the Rabbit of Fertility then? Or…"

Sitka elbowed him sharply and rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. "Knock it off."

His brother shrugged and the grin on his face remained. Sitka could just tell he was hoping that one of his suggestions would actually become true.

Meanwhile, Tanana was speaking of the Great Spirits. It was the same speech she delivered every ceremony and yet Sitka felt compelled to listen attentively to it once again in respect for his brother. It was only right after all he reasoned.

"Or…?" Denahi began, but was quietened immediately at the irritated expression Sitka gave him.

"To become a man, your actions must be guided by one thing," Tanana said, starting to unwrap the hide. Sitka anxiously stepped forward, desperate to make sure he heard what she would say.

"Your totem is…"

There was a long, agonising pause which made Sitka wish she would just say it straight away.

"Love."

Sitka smiled, 'love' was an amazing trait and though it was not one his brother seemed to particularly exhibit at the moment, Sitka just knew he would excel at. He felt pride well up inside of him as the anxiousness drained from him. He felt so elated and so proud for his younger brother.

Only the moment didn't last.

Denahi, who had somehow moved behind him exploded into laughter as cheers erupted from the crowd. Sitka frowned at his disrespectful behaviour, but knew that in this fit of laughter he wouldn't be able to stop his brother. So ignoring his brother he instead listened to his brother's assessment of his totem.

"What?"

Sitka felt upset at the sound of the astonishment and disappoint that could be heard clearly in Kenai's voice. Denahi, on the other hand, just proceeded to laugh more and his voice choked up as he muttered loudly about 'love'.

"Yes, love," Tanana said patiently, her voice still full of enthusiasm and her smile radiant as she turned to the crowd. Sitka sighed, he knew how this felt. This incident was so similar to that which he had faced when he received his totem, and his own disappointment at it.

He could hear Denahi pause in his laughter, gasping for air. "What ani-mal is it anyw-ay?"

Sitka shrugged, however, the answer was given quickly when Kenai exclaimed, "But, the _bear_ of love?"

Denahi descended into laughter once more, ignoring the looks Sitka noticed the crowd giving him. Sitka just hoped Kenai couldn't hear this, it would only make his younger brother's situation feel worse.

He brought his attention back to Kenai and could hear his brother moaning about his totem. He then watched as his brother held up his totem, the twisted string making it spin round, as he waved it about in front of Tanana. Sitka smiled, it was all just too similar to how he had been and then chuckled when Kenai began shouting about wanting to trade it for another.

* * *

_Right, well there's the first chapter published. Let me know if you want me to continue and if you have any questions/feedback._


	2. Understanding

**Chapter 2: Understanding  
****Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

When the ceremony had come to an end Sitka made his way to talk to Kenai. It was clear his brother was desperately in need for a conversation, even if he didn't know that yet, by the way his the smile on his face kept fading. However, he was unfortunately too late to intercept him before Denahi reached him.

"-be so great. You can dance around, spreading your love-"

Sitka pushed him to the side making him stop his teasing and pointed towards the village.

"Why don't you go get the fish, wolf of wisdom?" Denahi stuck out his tongue childishly at Sitka before skipping off, throwing flower petals on his way.

Sitka watched as Kenai gazed into the sky, his eyes sad.

"You know, I felt the same way when Tanana gave me mine," Sitka murmured softly as he guided his brother to the rocks to sit down on. He saw his brother's face contort into disbelief.

"Really?"

"It's true," Sitka laughed, punching his brother lightly on the arm, "I mean the 'Eagle of Guidance'? What kind of trait was that?"

He pulled out his worn totem from beneath his fur coat and showed it to his brother. He knew his brother had seen it countless times before, but, despite that Kenai looked thoughtfully at it. Then, he looked away quickly in shame.

Sitka frowned at the display, he couldn't believe Kenai was so disappointed when he, himself, was so proud of him. He was overjoyed that his brother was beginning to move towards manhood. The progress he had made since he was younger truly astounded Sitka.

"But, you see now that I'm older I understand what it means. Even if I didn't then, which is exactly what you're feeling. My totem, it means being a leader… and basically watching over the two of you."

Sitka watched as Kenai turned his own totem in his hands.

"I just really wanted to get my handprint on that wall," his brother confessed.

Sitka nodded. He understood this immensely as, like Kenai, this had been his own wish for such a long time when he was younger. It had seemed like the most important goal in his life at that time, but now, having already had his handprint on the wall, he knew it was the journey that had been so important. The handprint was merely a trophy, but the journey to manhood was the ultimate accomplishment and challenge. He only wished that someday Kenai would come to understand this too.

"Just be patient. One day I guarantee your handprint will be on the wall, right next to all our ancestors… and right next to mine."

"Really?"

Sitka took the totem gently from his brother's hands and placed it around Kenai's neck.

"When you live by your totem you will. And I know for sure that someday you will."

Kenai grinned up at him and Sitka responded with a hug.

"Now," Sitka said, "Let's see what trouble Denahi has already managed to get up to."

Kenai nodded and jumped from the rocks they had been sat on to go find Denahi.

"Oh and Kenai." Kenai skidded to a halt and looked back at Sitka. "Know that I'm extremely proud of you."

_-LineBreak-_

'Why?' Sitka wondered to himself in confusion. 'Why had they chased that bear?' It had been a foolish and rash decision that he had made to accept the idea to hunt down the bear. He wished he had seen sense before.

This was just dangerous and unnecessary.

Although, he considered, his brothers would have still probably have went on the hunt and therefore, they would all still be in this mess.

They were currently on the glacier by their village, having chased the bear up to this point. However, the advantage they had believed to have had over the bear had disappeared.

The bear reared on its back legs, before it dashed towards where Denahi and Kenai were. Sitka bolted towards it in order to stop it in its path, this would allow his brother's more time to escape the crevice. He could hear their scrambling and the sound of the ice cracking, but he didn't turn and instead focused on the bear.

The bear came within reach and as it did Sitka slid before it and stabbed forward with his spear. He only managed a small graze on the bear's arm and doing so allowed the bear time to swipe with its claws into his right arm. Sitka gritted his teeth at the pain, but jumped up. He weaved round the bear and struck again with his spear.

And this time it hit its mark.

The strike caught the bear and threw it off balance. It crashed into the ice sheet, but unfortunately, it regained its balance quickly. Now recovered, it slowly began to advance on him again.

Sitka began to retreat further towards the cliff edge, knowing the bear would be following him and therefore, increasing the distance between it and his brothers. However, horror began to flood through him as he noted that the bear had lost interest in him and was instead going for his brothers. They were, after all, an easier meal than himself Sitka thought.

The bear sprinted closer to his brothers. But, Sitka was too far away. He knew he wouldn't get there in time, he wouldn't be able to stop the bear as it killed his brothers, it was hopeless… unless…

He slammed his spear into the ice, relishing in the sound of the ice splitting and then the sight as the cracks spread across the ice sheet. He stayed still as he watched the bear run for his brothers, only for it to be stopped when a large gap appeared in the ice in front of it. It could no longer reach his brothers, but then, neither could he.

"Sitka!" Two yells sounded as the ice started to fall. Sitka didn't respond, instead he watched as they disappeared from sight and began to cast a prayer to the Great Spirits.

However, he was unable to finish his prayer in time before he was engulfed by the river.

* * *

Well there we go. I do want to point out that this story doesn't follow the movie word for word, but that shouldn't matter anyway for future chapters as they're going to new scenes. I would like to thank everyone who left a review/followed/favorited this story: Grace, Huggiebird and Little Ms. Fangirl. Thanks for your support.

So hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know if you want to see more. :)


	3. Hope

**Chapter 3: Hope  
****Disclaimer: I do not own anything**

Sitka awoke slowly and groaned as he began to register the onslaught of pain. He felt the aches and the pains that were knowingly going to increase when he moved. There was also something else he noticed: he could feel his clothes clinging to him and a cold sensation cover his body. He opened his eyes and realised that his lower body was submerged in a river's water. His top half, however, wasn't and yet it remained just as wet as the rest of him.

He felt a rack of shivers travel through his body. He wasn't just cold, he was extremely cold and by the way he was shivering wildly he understood that getting out from the river would be his first priority.

He questioned momentarily why he was in the river, but his memory recalled the attack in detail: the bear, the glacier and his two brothers.

"My brothers," he whispered to himself, dreading the thought they might be dead. He needed to find them. They might even be hurt. Even though, he thought logically, they would probably be alright. He still needed to make sure though. He also let his mind wander to the possibility that they might be looking for him.

His body was attacked by another large shiver and therefore, he urgently began to pull himself from the water. He was partially on the shore already, his body having caught the shallow area of the riverbed and his arm, currently buried in small pebbles, had prevented himself from drifting further down the river.

It was a miracle this had happened and he hadn't drowned.

Another shiver brought him from his thoughts and fulled his desire to get onto the shore. He raised his left arm and began to haul himself onto shore slowly, but, as he went to raise his right arm, he felt a sharp shot of pain. He cried out. And then hoped there were no predators around, the last thing he needed was a bear or a wolf to find him like this.

He rested briefly, before trying for a second time. He held his breathe as he used his left arm to clamber onto shore. However, his body began to slide back into the water and he was forced to reluctantly use his right arm to help pull himself up. Doing so, he ignored the immense pain, and instead gritted his teeth and concentrated on pulling himself out of the dangerous waters. Finally, he managed it.

He lay panting on the shore for a minute and took the time to inspect his arm. The bear scratch he realised had been the source of the pain. It was currently red and the scab that was covering it was black. As a second thought Sitka also realised this was his hunting arm. 'That really didn't bode well for my survival' he thought.

He looked round, hoping he would recognise his surroundings, but that wasn't the case. He knew he was near the Western Mountains which he could see looming above the trees, but the rest was unfamiliar. He hadn't been in these parts of the mountain before as he tended to stick to the southern forests from his village.

He got up slowly, relieved to find that his legs were alright and that even though his balance was slightly off, he was generally fine. The thought reminded him of the necessity to find some medicine leaves for his arm and to clean the wound before it got worse. He began to search for wood at the edge of the forest to make a fire with.

He found some small branches and then some dead grass he would use as tinder, as well as a small rocks, which when he had sharpened the corners allowed him to set the wood on fire.

The fire was soon alight, the flames jumping about in the small fire pit he had dug. He stood back from it in favour of searching for larger branches to keep the fire going. Once finished he took off his soaked clothes and placed them around the fire pit. Then, when he had done this, he curled beside the fire and drifted off.

_-LineBreak-_

Sitka trekked through the forest after setting off from the fire pit. He pulled the hood of his antelope coat over his head as the wind became colder and was thankful that he had managed to mostly dry his clothes in time for today. They were still a little damp, but that was alright.

He had noticed that morning when he was clothing himself that his totem was gone, he hadn't noticed it before and even though he searched the river, he hadn't been able to find it.

Sitka groaned when a branch caught his wounded arm, it was still very painful and he had been disappointed to find no trace of any medicine leaves in the area. His arm was getting worse, he knew this, but without any medicine leaves there was nothing he could do. He had cleaned it that morning and had only found it to have gotten worse, the redness surrounding it was darker and the scab remained the dark black it had been. But, he could think of nothing more that he could do.

He sighed at how useless his hunter's arm had now become. He was just so vulnerable at the moment.

Realising that making a weapon was a priority Sitka began work on a spear and, though his woodwork turned out to be very poor when he inspected it after he finished making it, he now had a weapon to defend himself with.

And more importantly, he decided when his stomach rumbled, something to get food with.

_-LineBreak-_

It was two night later when Sitka awoke to the pain in his arm. It was throbbing, as it had been, but this time it felt like it was on fire. Sitka felt this was strange, all day it had seemed slightly painful, but now it seemed unbearable. Maybe it was a sign of how close he was to joining the Great Spirits in the sky. It sounded silly to Sitka, but it was the only plausible reason he could think of for such a change in the pain.

Sitka hugged himself and gazed up into the sky. "Please, great spirits allow my soul to come quickly if it must." He didn't quite believe it was his time to die yet, but, he decided he might as well pray in case it was.

However, just as it the pain seemed to peak it faded back to the pain it had been during the day: painful, but bearable.

He kept his gaze on the skies, relieved that perhaps the Great Spirits had taken pity on him and halted the pain. Yet, as he watched the stars and clouds drift he saw a bright light streak across the sky.

Sitka watched as the light seemed to transform, it looked almost like a mammoth. He gasped at the sight.

'Father?' he wondered. His own father had been blessed with the Mammoth totem. 'Maybe', Sitka thought, 'maybe this was a sign from him'.

"Father?" he called again, but the spirit didn't stop nor respond as it continued its flight towards the Western Mountains.

Sitka moved from his hastily constructed shelter and ran after the Spirit. If the Great Spirits, which may include his father, were trying to converse with him then he would try to follow. Sitka watched as the light bent and twisted as it danced across the sky, it was no normal light display.

Ducking and weaving through the pines on the mountainside Sitka spared a second to look up to see if he was still following the trail. He was relieved to find he was and checked that he was indeed still heading in the same direction as the spirit was as it made its way across the sky. It still seemed to be heading towards the mountains.

However, busy as Sitka was looking up at the sky he failed to look carefully at his surroundings.

Stepping forward Sitka felt the foot he had placed in front become tightened by what seemed like rope. He didn't have enough time to worry as the trap activated and Sitka was lifted into the air by his right foot. Sitka, in surprise, felt his grasp on his spear slacken and then as he felt the rope tighten painfully on his leg he dropped it.

"Ow, ow," Sitka mumbled as the pressure increased on his foot.

He swung his body to try to reach the branches that were above him, but didn't get anywhere close to them. He cast a look upwards, irritated to find the branches blocked out the sky and he could no longer see the Great Spirits.

'What if they needed him?' Sitka wondered. 'What would they do now that he had failed to follow them?' He tried reaching for his spear, yet his fingers could only brush the air. The ground and therefore, the spear were too far away, there was no chance of him reaching it.

He groaned to himself at his predicament.

At least, Sitka thought, there is no one here to see me. It did mean however, that there was also no one to help him free himself though.

The leaves rustled from behind him.

Sitka flinched, the branches above him shaking as he did so, he was so vulnerable at this moment. He could feel his heart rate increase, if this was a predator he was most definitely dead. The only way he had of defending himself was his spear and that was on the ground. Also, since he was tied up in the rope it meant he couldn't escape either.

The bushes moved again and Sitka kept his eyes firmly on it as he waited for the animal, whatever it was, to jump out at him. He held his breath.

Sitka's eyes widened as his brother walked through the bushes, his eyes busy watching the skies. His brother had yet to notice him.

"Denahi?" he whispered. His brother jumped and then his eyes locked onto him. Sitka watched as his eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise.

"Sitka?" he asked, his tone of disbelief. His brother ran forwards. "Sitka?" he repeated bending down beside Sitka who was still hanging upside down.

Denahi felt his foot become numb from the pressure of the rope.

"Ropes, please, Denahi." His brother nodded, but remained still. Then, he jumped up and rushed to the tree.

Sitka's eyes widened as his brother brought out his knife and didn't manage to warn him before he swiftly cut the rope. The rope attached to Sitka loosened quickly and his body plummeted to the ground with his head smashing on the ground. He moaned at the pain.

Sitka heard Denahi shout in surprise and saw him leaning over him. He could already see black dots in his vision, and in the last moments he remained conscious, he glared at his brother for his stupid move just as everything went black.

* * *

_**Very sorry for the late chapter! I just had so much trouble deciding what to do with this chapter, I must have written it over so many times and I still don't think I'm happy with the ending. But, I shall try to get the next chapter up in a more reasonable amount of time... hopefully.**_

_**Thanks very much to reviewers Little Ms Fangirl, Huggiebird and Cody the Pikachu for their support.**_


	4. Vengeful

**Chapter 4: Vengeful  
****Disclaimer: I do not own anything**

Sitka awoke. His head felt mildly sore, but it was hardly a problem. He was surprised at the lack of pain. He felt so much better. It was then that he realised that his arm was no longer painful, he pulled up his coat's sleeve and saw that green, medicine leaves covered the wound.

He smiled, Denahi wasn't completely hopeless then.

He looked around at his surroundings. There was no sign of Denahi, but a fire pit had been constructed and there were signs in the dirt of someone sleeping beside him.

Sitka rubbed his eyes and removing his coat, that had been placed over him, he carefully stood up.

"Sitka," Denahi said. Sitka turned and saw him, his arms cradling two fish. His brother threw them down by the fire pit and rushed over to Sitka.

"I can't believe you survived… we thought…"

Sitka felt guilty, they had believed him to be dead and must have been blaming themselves for those past days.

Sitka sighed, "It was a miracle I did. I… I think the spirits helped."

Denahi pulled away and looked at him with hope dancing in his eyes.

"You noticed the spirits in the sky then? And… the mammoth?"

"Yes. Let's be thankful they were there. And that you were."

Denahi rubbed his head anxiously, "Er... sorry about the rope. I didn't really think about that."

Sitka laughed and put an arm round his brother. "That's right you didn't think. I'm alright though. I'm sure it was a surprise to see me, so I can understand."

There was a pause and Denahi's expression abruptly became upset. Sitka watched anxiously as his brother looked everywhere apart from him. He tightened his grip on his brother, hoping to reassure him to tell him what was wrong.

"Sitka, Kenai… Kenai…" Sitka watched as his expression and tone changed to fury, "Kenai was killed by the bear."

Sitka felt his heart sink. He could hardly believe it, it seemed almost impossible to him that Kenai had been killed. He had been sure that his time would have come before his. Kenai had only just receieved his totem after all and had been so young. He wished it wasn't true, it seemed so unbelievable for he had only left them for a few days and had been fairly sure they would be fine in his absence.

But, his brother was dead.

Denahi turned away, but Sitka had already noticed his watery eyes and his clenched hands.

He allowed himself a moment to sit down and pray to the Great Spirits for his brother. He wondered when this had happened. Had it been on the glacier? Or later? He felt horror spread through him at the idea his brother had thought he had died and then found that Kenai had died. The guilt must have been eating away at him that he had failed his two brothers. Sitka felt his own guilt magnify at these thoughts. He should have been here to help, to save Kenai and to help Denahi.

He approached Denahi slowly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"This bear… it has killed our family. We must stop it."

"Denahi," Sitka said firmly, "We are not going to kill the bear."

"It killed our brother!"

"So could a mountain, but we don't destroy it. Denahi, this isn't right. It isn't going to help."

"Why not?"

"What use is revenge? Where did it us leave us the last time? And what about the spirits? Denahi, please listen to me, killing this bear is wrong."

Denahi's expression didn't change as he focused his eyes on the fire pit.

"I don't care. This… this bear… I will kill it and I will do it myself," he spat and walked away.

Sitka shook his head in sympathy that his brother was driven into such rage. "Denahi," he shouted, but his brother continued.

Sitka shouted again, "This is crazy, we're only going to get ourselves killed."

His brother momentarily stopped, but then carried on heading towards the Western Mountains. His body was stiff as he walked and Sitka couldn't stop the sigh that escaped him.

However, despite this and his brother's stupid decision, he knew he wouldn't abandon him. He gathered the few belongings they had, including the fish and Denahi's coat that his brother had carelessly forgotten, and then raced after his brother with a solemn expression on his face.

He hoped his brother would listen to sense before it was too late.

_-LineBreak-_

The few hours after were quiet. Denahi had yet to speak and Sitka felt no need to remind him of his disapproval of this hunt, he knew his brother was too stubborn to listen. Finally though, as noon approached, the first words were spoken.

Denahi took a deep breath as they sat down to eat their fish. "Listen, Sitka, I know you don't like this, but, I just have to do this. I'm sorry."

Sitka sighed, "I'm coming with you. But, this is wrong."

"What, so I'm to leave the bear alone? The bear that almost killed you and did kill Kenai. I'm supposed to leave it alone, am I?" Denahi shouted, leaping to his feet.

"There is no reason to kill the bear, except for revenge."

Denahi's face became tinted with red, "The bear killed our brother. I am not going to leave it be... Kenai was right, a bear can't love."

"De-"

Denahi whirled around and stormed off. Sitka watched as he disappeared into the trees and began to walk towards him, though the choice on whether to follow him, he noticed, wasn't as spontaneous as it had been the last time.

Stika shook his head sadly at his brother's retreating form. "The Wolf of Wisdom? Maybe it should have been the Boar of Revenge?" he whispered to himself, before trailing after his brother.

* * *

_Bit of a short chapter, but wanted to get out before everything becomes to busy. Great thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter: Aviarius, Cody the Pikachu, AlleyCAT19, Huggiebird and Little Ms. Fangirl. Plus, a thanks to all those that are following._

_Hopefully I can get out another chapter in reasonable time, but I can't promise anything._


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